picnic
pic·nic/ˈpɪknɪk/noun, verb
picnic is spelled P-I-C-N-I-C: 6 letters and 2 syllables (pic·nic). It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, picnic means “An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of picnic is picnics.
How many letters and syllables are in picnic?
| Letters | 6: P-I-C-N-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pic·nic |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is picnic?
Picnic appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce picnic?
- /ˈpɪknɪk/
Picnic has 2 syllables, split pic·nic in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-picnic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with picnic
Sounds like: pyknic (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of picnic
- picnics plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pic-a-nic
- picnicking participle, present
- picnicked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does picnic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink.
We went out for a picnic in the forest.
- 2
The meal eaten at such a gathering.
- 3
An easy or pleasant task.
We remind the guests that dealing with this problem is no picnic, and to be patient.
- 4
obsoleteAn entertainment at which each person contributed some dish to a common table.
- 5
A cut of pork from the shoulder area (above the front leg) of a pig.
verb
- 1
To take part in a picnic.
phrase
- 1
Acronym of problem in chair, not in computer: states that the problem was not in the computer but was instead caused by the user operating it.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Picnic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Picknick , Kinderspiel |
| French | jeu d’enfant , pique-nique, piquenique, picnic |
| Portuguese | piquenique |
| Spanish | jira, pícnic |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does picnic come from?
Borrowed from French pique-nique.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).